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====What was El Dorado?====
[[File: El Dorado 2.jpg|300px|thumb|left|A Muisca gold representation of a coronation ritual]]
The kernel of the story of El Dorado is as follows. It was a lost city of gold, people by an Amerindian population, in the midst of a remote jungle. The city was part of a sophisticated culture, that was fabulously wealthy in precious metals and gems. Soon after Columbus's arrival in the Americas in AD 1492, the Spanish Conquistadors were able to conquer two great Empires, the Aztecs, and Inca and many smaller kingdoms. They seized huge quantities of gold and other precious metals. The Spanish, despite their wealth, had an endless thirst for gold. Not even the conquest of the wealthy Inca and Aztec Empires satisfied the Europeans. For many decades the Conquistadors continued to look for Amerindian communities to subdue, enslave and to take their gold.
In the late 16th century, stories emerged about a city in the heart of the jungle, and it became popularly known as El Dorado. The tale inspired many men to risk their lives in the search for the fabled city. There were many attempts to find El Dorado, all unsuccessful.<ref>Nicholl, Charles. The creature in the map: a journey to El Dorado. University of Chicago Press, 1997), p. 13</ref> The first known expedition to find the lost city was led by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada in the late 1530s. He explored the areas dominated by the Musica people and seized vast qualities of gold. Some say that these Conquistadors did much to spread the story of El Dorado.
